5 Prius c keeps it all in the family The IFP* Halton Hills* 05, 2012 WHEELS April

By JIM ROBINSON of the big selling points, in my opinion, has been the digital Carguide Magazine monitor showing the power be- Metroland Media Group ing routed back and forth from SEATTLE, Wa.: There’s a battery to engine to motor. new family in town — the Toy- And while this is retained, ota Prius Family. the Combination Metre/Ener- Toyota/ is planning to gy Monitor as it is now called launch 18 new or refreshened does much more, including vehicles in the next 18 months driver information, ECO score, and creating a selection or ‘fam- fi ve-minute fuel consumption, ily’ of Prius Hybrids is among ECO savings, ECO saving re- the fi rst of these initiatives. cord, past record and summary Prius currently represents when the Prius is turned off. 25 per cent of all hybrids sold Located at the top and cen- in . One in fi ve Lexus tre of the instrument panel, I models is a hybrid and in Feb- rarely looked at it and concen- Part of the Premium Package ruary hybrids made up 37 per The 2012 c is the smallest of the four-member Prius Hy- trated on the road ahead. But I cent of all mid-size Toyota car was interested to note that my option are seats trimmed with brid family. Toyota claims it is the most fuel- effi cient car on the road SofTex that is half the weight of sales. that does not need to be plugged in. co-driver was able to operate But, and it’s a big but, Toy- in EV mode 37 per cent during leather and gives off just one per ota and Lexus have pretty well While it is offi cially classi- On the tunnel the morning of driving in and cent of emissions during manu- facturing. had the hybrid market to them- fi ed as a subcompact, Prius c are two buttons, one marked around Seattle where the press selves. They starting selling the is one of those new cars that ECO Mode and the other EV launch of the Prius c was held. original Prius 15 years ago in blurs the line between compact Mode and both are designed to Climate control is standard At highway speeds, the hard- and it was launched here and sub-compact— especially increase fuel effi ciency. which I wasn’t expecting along er low-rolling resistance tires in Canada in 2000 giving them on the inside. ECO smoothes out throttle with twin, click-wheel style were louder than normal but a huge lead in building and For example, passenger vol- response but it also has the controls on the steering wheel this is to be expected. selling hybrids. ume is 87.4 cu ft but there is still bonus of actually improving spokes for audio, climate, trip, I wouldn’t call acceleration With competition starting to 17.1 cu ft behind the standard acceleration in wet or snow as Bluetooth and the multi infor- punchy but it was pretty quick fl ow from GM, Ford, Hyundai/ 60/40 split/fold rear seat. One the reduced throttle response mation display. off the line. However with the Kia and Honda, Toyota is coun- way of doing this was placing decreases wheel slip. Available as part of the top- ECO gauge shaming you to go tering but offering no less than the hybrid and auxiliary batter- EV allows the Prius c to op- trim Premium Package are easy on the gas, hot-rodding four Prius models all aimed at ies under the rear seat freeing erate on electric only for short seats made of SofTex that is as seems counter productive. a different group of buyers, in up cargo space in the trunk. distances. Toyota says, that un- durable as leather but weighs At the press launch Toyota other words, a Prius for every- The Prius c uses the light- der certain conditions, 40 km/h half as much while giving off took great pains to portray the one. est, most compact version of for up to one kilometre is pos- just one per cent of the emis- Prius c as aimed at Gen Yers The Prius Liftback is the Toyota’s sible. sions as artifi cial leather during who are city dwellers who want mainstream model along with yet starting with a transversely- There is a full suite of safety the manufacturing process. a car for primarily city driving. the Prius v, a larger version mounted 1.5-litre, four-cylinder features. Besides nine airbags, The Prius c is 26 per cent But I’m not so sure about with 50 per cent more cargo engine producing 73 hp and 82 the Prius c has stability con- lighter than the Prius Liftback that. space. The Prius PHV (Plug-in lb/ft of torque. Attached to it is trol, traction control, anti-lock which helps when it comes to With fuel continuing to rise Hybrid Vehicle) is expected to an oil-cooled transaxle contain- brakes, brake assist, electronic ride and handling. even a gas sipper like a Toyota join the family later this year. ing an electric motor with 60 brake force distribution and Suspension is MacStruts at Yaris makes the Prius c a con- And then there is the 2012 hp and 125 lb/ft of torque. Smart Stop Technology where the front and a twist-beam at sideration for commuters. If we Prius c starting at $20,950 mak- Together they produce the brake overrides the engine the rear. Braking is discs front start seeing prices approach $2/ ing it the lowest priced hybrid a net 99 hp and 125 lb/ft of in an emergency situation. and drums at the rear. litre the crossover point where on the market. torque driving the front wheels Standard is a Vehicle Prox- On the road, the Prius c felt the extra cost of a hybrid makes With a combined fuel con- through a CVT transmission. imity Notifi cation system. In like a normal sub-compact, it cheaper overall to operate, sumption rating of 3.7L/100 The battery is a 144-volt EV mode because it moves with fi ve-door being commuters may be fi ghting km (3.5/4.0L/100 km city/high- nickel-metal hydride unit that virtually no noise, an audible nimble in urban settings with over them in the Toyota lots. way), Toyota claims the Prius c is 100 per cent recyclable at the tone is emitted at speeds below largish windows which always That’s why this idea of a is the most fuel-effi cient car on end of its life cycle. The battery 24 km/h to alert pedestrians the help with gobs of traffi c and Prius family of hybrids makes the road that doesn’t need to be has an eight-year/160,000 km Prius is approaching. pedestrians coming from all di- such good sense and at a good plugged in. warranty. From the very fi rst Prius one rections. time, too. WHERE THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS

SSaale #1

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$ + $ + $ + $ + Stk# √ 15,998HST Stk# R15222D 6,998 HST Stk# U25624D 7,998 HST Stk#25692D 17,998HST 2007 NITRO SLT 2005 FOCUS ZX5 2006 3 GS 2007 EDGE SEL AUTO, LEATHER, MOON ROOF, ONE OWNER, 5 SPD, LOADED, ALLOY, KEYLESS, ONE OWNER 5SPD, LOADED AWD, LEATHER, ONE OWNER ONLY 44258 KMS 165258 KMS 100752 KMS 96587 KMS VERY CLEAN A MUST SEE VERY CLEaN CONCEPT 361 Guelph St. (Hwy. #7), Georgetown More vehicles online at: www.conceptford.com 905-873-1626

Discloser: All sale prices are plus HST, and Licensing, O.A.C